RobRob Deluxe & Champ Micro - how well do they fit Princeton Reverb chassis?

[Lavely]

I'm thinking about building Rob Robinette's Deluxe Micro and Deluxe Champ.  I would prefer to not have to drill any chassis myself, as I don't have the tools or the skill.  I found an Ebay seller with eyelet boards made for each amp, but I am wondering how well these boards will fit with the pre-drilled screw holes in a standard PR chassis?  If they fit, this would be a nice, large chassis to work with, and it also has the advantage of fitting a pre-spec'd cabinet.

Anyone able to comment?

[Latole]

In my opinion, having the tools to drill holes (drill and bits) is essential for what wants to build amp or to do odds jobs.
Or buy a complete kit.

Now decide on whether what you are going to buy will be "plug and play", and without seeing pictures, I will be unable to.

[vampwizzard]

the prefab chassis works when you have the same transformers as the original, otherwise you're going to need something custom. For a deluxe micro the PT will work but you may have to work around where the reverb transformer mounts vs where you want its leads to go. Might require a terminal strip.

Id say theres less than a 1% chance that you'll be able to perfectly mount everything from a custom build into a standard prefab chassis without drilling a few holes.

Ive personally done two methods on custom builds, both trying to avoid building the cab. On my single channel AB763 in a Blues Jr I had someone make me a blank aluminum chassis to the dimensions of the blues junior and then fabbed everything. It wasn't bad. Two step bits, a set of drill bits, deburring tool, and a jig saw with metal blade got the hole thing done. I built another in a princeton reverb chassis/cab and had to drill extra holes to mount my board but otherwise had everything I needed.

Dont be intimidated by the drilling.

[Lavely]

I'm going to utilize a Princeton Reverb chassis, as it has plenty of front & back panel holes I can use (with some extras), and it is a "standard" size, so I can buy a used or standard cab for it.  Makes some pieces a LOT easier.

As I dig in, I agree that drilling a hole or two will not be too difficult.  HOWEVER, the PT cutout is a different story.  Problem I have is I can't find specs on the PT cutouts on a "standard" Princeton Reverb chassis.  How does one go about widening a cutout like this, if necessary?  Or, what if it is too big?  Hmm...

[shooter]

How does one go about widening a cutout like this

Dremel tool and cool bits,  side milling bits work well

[Latole]

I use some kind of skill saw with blade for steel .
And some files

Don't forget safety Googles

[vampwizzard]

I'm going to utilize a Princeton Reverb chassis, as it has plenty of front & back panel holes I can use (with some extras), and it is a "standard" size, so I can buy a used or standard cab for it.  Makes some pieces a LOT easier.

As I dig in, I agree that drilling a hole or two will not be too difficult.  HOWEVER, the PT cutout is a different story.  Problem I have is I can't find specs on the PT cutouts on a "standard" Princeton Reverb chassis.  How does one go about widening a cutout like this, if necessary?  Or, what if it is too big?  Hmm...

PT cutouts: if Im looking for a standard size ill go find the spec sheets on classictone or hammond's spec sheets. They have them on there. On the organ amp conversions I just measure them out.

To do the cutouts I mark the center holes for the mounting screws and draw the box for the cutout on the chassis. Drill the mounting screw holes for the hardware size. Then ill take a large drill bit and drill the corners the inside of the cutout rectangle. then use a jig saw to connect the holes.

[Latole]

To resume; work with tools is a must

[thetragichero]

for big cutouts like transformer or iec socket i drill holes around the inside of the line I'm cutting out and then use files to clean everything up and make it fit. I've done enough woodworking with jig saws (these days cutting speaker holes and cutouts for faceplates) that i avoid whenever possible (but i also don't mind slow progress)

[Mike_J]

I'm going to utilize a Princeton Reverb chassis, as it has plenty of front & back panel holes I can use (with some extras), and it is a "standard" size, so I can buy a used or standard cab for it.  Makes some pieces a LOT easier.

As I dig in, I agree that drilling a hole or two will not be too difficult.  HOWEVER, the PT cutout is a different story.  Problem I have is I can't find specs on the PT cutouts on a "standard" Princeton Reverb chassis.  How does one go about widening a cutout like this, if necessary?  Or, what if it is too big?  Hmm...

PT cutouts: if Im looking for a standard size ill go find the spec sheets on classictone or hammond's spec sheets. They have them on there. On the organ amp conversions I just measure them out.

To do the cutouts I mark the center holes for the mounting screws and draw the box for the cutout on the chassis. Drill the mounting screw holes for the hardware size. Then ill take a large drill bit and drill the corners the inside of the cutout rectangle. then use a jig saw to connect the holes.

This is how I do it as well. Have a local steel company that will make me a blank chassis for $45. All you need in addition to the jig saw and metal blades is a cordless drill and drill bits as well as step drill bits. The expensive step drill bits will last a lot longer than the inexpensive bits at Harbor Freight but for one chassis either will do.


If you want a chassis with the angled face like Fender used in their black and silver faced amps you could get a blank chassis, at least a few years ago, and modify it to your hearts content. Depending on how involved you want to get in this you can make your own face and back plates. I use a free vector graphics program called Inkscape but there are other programs that can do the same thing. After I design the face and back plates I email the files to a local printer. He prints them off on a laminated vinyl when he is running other jobs with the same material and only charges $20 to $30 for both. Usually can go pick them up within a week or two of emailing them to him.


I have silkscreened nameplates on mirror finished stainless steel. They are much simpler than a faceplate is but are probably my least favorite project because of all the steps that are required. You can get silkscreened Fender faceplates for some of their amps but as I am sure you know they limit your ability to add or subtract from the original build. That is how the Inkscape got started.


I also like to build and cover my own cabinets as well. You can also have your own transformers wound if you want to. I like to have a separate winding added to the transformer if I am going to install a relay for footswitches in the amp. Probably not needed but doesn't add that much cost to a one off amp. Wouldn't think about tackling this on one of my first builds.

[Lavely]

I'm going to give it a shot.  Purchasing PR chassis, perhaps using my drill, got some drill bits & deburring tool, working on which of my neighbors will let me borrow a jigsaw if needed.  Thanks all - you convinced me it's not THAT hard to do some of this, if necessary.